Non-Native Marine Fishes in Florida: Updated Checklist, Population Status and Early Detection/Rapid Response
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BioInvasions Records (2019) Volume 8, Issue 4: 898–910 CORRECTED PROOF Research Article Non-native marine fishes in Florida: updated checklist, population status and early detection/rapid response Pamela J. Schofield1,* and Lad Akins2,3 1US Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, 7920 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, FL 32653, USA 2Reef Environmental Education Foundation, P. O. Box 370246, Key Largo, FL, 33037, USA 3Present address: Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, 1101 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132, USA Author e-mails: [email protected] (PJS), [email protected] (LA) *Corresponding author Citation: Schofield PJ, Akins L (2019) Non-native marine fishes in Florida: Abstract updated checklist, population status and early detection/rapid response. It has been ten years since the last comprehensive assessment of non-native marine BioInvasions Records 8(4): 898–910, fishes in Florida. Herein, we report sightings of 41 species from Florida coastal https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2019.8.4.18 waters since the earliest reported sighting in 1984. Information is provided on the Received: 4 March 2019 population status of each species (e.g., established, eradicated, unknown), and our Accepted: 14 June 2019 early detection/rapid response program to remove these fish is described. Of the 41 Published: 27 August 2019 species, five have established reproducing populations. Nineteen species are either eradicated or failed, while the status of 17 additional species is unknown. Since 1999, Handling editor: Michel Bariche 18 individuals comprising 13 species have been removed from coastal waters, most Thematic editor: Stelios Katsanevakis of which were collected through our early-detection/rapid-response program. Many Copyright: © The Author(s) of those fishes were transferred to public aquaria where they were displayed to This is an open access article distributed under terms provide educational information to the public. Most reports of non-native marine of the Creative Commons Attribution License (Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0). fishes originated from citizen scientists, emphasizing the importance of outreach and education. OPEN ACCESS. Key words: ED/RR, nonindigenous marine fishes, response to introductions, citizen science Introduction Controlling and mitigating effects of non-native species is estimated to cost 120 billion dollars in the USA each year (Pimentel et al. 2005). Once established, those species are rarely eradicated, and financial and human resource costs can grow beyond the ability of resource managers to effectively address the invasion. Invasions in marine environments pose special challenges due to limited ability to document and respond to invasions underwater, as well as the vastness and interconnectedness of the environment (Arndt et al. 2018). The recent spread of non-native lionfishes (Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) and P. miles (Bennett, 1828); Schofield 2010) and their detrimental effects on native reef systems (e.g., Green et al. 2012) has brought awareness to the problems of marine fish introductions. Worldwide, the number of non-native marine fishes has increased steadily over the past few decades Schofield and Akins (2019), BioInvasions Records 8(4): 898–910, https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2019.8.4.18 898 Non-native marine fishes in Florida (Arndt et al. 2018). In Florida, little attention was paid to non-native marine fishes until the arrival of the lionfishes. The first published report of non-native marine fishes in Florida is Courtenay (1995), a short (three paragraph) section of a newsletter in which he mentioned six species of non-native marine fishes but gave no details. Semmens et al. (2004) documented 16 non-native marine fish species off southeast Florida, and five years later Schofield et al. (2009) summarized reports of 33 non-native marine fishes observed in Florida waters. Herein, we provide an updated listing of non-native marine fishes in Florida, summarize sighting data for each species, and provide a population status for each species (e.g., established, eradicated, etc.). We also describe our early-detection/rapid- response (ED/RR) program for non-native fishes and its results to date. Materials and methods Sighting records were compiled from the US Geological Survey’s Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database (USGS-NAS 2018a). The USGS- NAS database is the federal repository of geo-referenced sighting reports for aquatic non-native species. Reports to the USGS-NAS database often come from citizen scientists who submit sighting records online via either the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) or USGS-NAS reporting websites (REEF 2018; USGS-NAS 2018b) as well as from published scientific literature and personal communications from natural-resource managers, biologists, and others. Records were verified by interviewing the reporters or obtaining photos of the specimens from them. Data in the USGS-NAS database change daily as new reports are added. The data we present in this report were queried on 11 December 2018. Taxonomy of non-native fishes can be puzzling, as there are often more than one species in a genus that appear similar (e.g., Pterois, Heniochus). We are sometimes presented with only a photo or description of a species, especially for older reports. Without morphometric/meristic verification or genetic information, species identities are difficult to confirm. Additionally, it is possible that fishes are hybrids (e.g., Burford Reiskind et al. 2019). Because of these difficulties, we have combined some taxa in our reporting here (e.g., Pterois, Heniochus). We assigned a population status to each species as follows: Established: Populations that are reproducing, evidenced by the presence of juveniles and numerous adults, including adults in breeding condition. Eradicated: All individuals reported were subsequently removed from the wild. Failed: Species not seen since it was detected (at least ten years prior); likely never reproduced. Unknown: Insufficient information to determine status. Schofield and Akins (2019), BioInvasions Records 8(4): 898–910, https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2019.8.4.18 899 Non-native marine fishes in Florida The designation of “failed” is a presumption, as it can never be proven that the fish is no longer extant in the wild. We base our designation on a few lines of evidence: The locations from which these fishes were reported are not remote or difficult to access and are regularly visited by divers. We chose ten years since the last sighting as the cut-off for assigning species status, reasoning that most non-native fishes would have either died or been re-sighted by then. Early-Detection/Rapid-Response (ED/RR) We developed an early-detection/rapid-response (ED/RR) program to remove non-native marine fishes from Florida waters. The purpose of the program is to remove newly-introduced species in hopes of eradicating them before they become established. Over time, we developed a process for reporting, validation, notification, removal and deposition of non- native marine fishes (see Supplemental material Appendix 1 for details). Results Forty-one non-native marine fish species were documented from Florida coastal waters, including 3,078 lionfish records and 289 non-lionfish records (Supplementary material Table S1). Summary data in Table S1 include the Family to which the fish belongs, its scientific and common names, its native and introduced ranges, and comments on its population status. The first record was from 1984 (Chromileptes altivelis (Valenciennes, 1828)). Fishes were documented from both coasts of Florida (Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico), with a concentration of sightings in southeast Florida (Figure 1). Sighting records of non-native marine fishes were received from a variety of sources, primarily from citizen scientists. Many sightings were provided by individuals trained to recognize native species and who were able to recognize unfamiliar species (i.e., not native). Commercial and recreational fishers also provided some sightings. Often, those records were reported to local law-enforcement or wildlife officials, who forwarded them to us. Established species At this time, five species are established in Florida, of which the lionfishes (Pterois volitans/miles) are the most widespread. Genetic evidence has shown that most non-native lionfish are P. volitans, with P. miles only occurring rarely (Betancur-R et al. 2011). However, as they are indistinguishable without the use of genetics, they are grouped together in the USGS-NAS database and here. These species are established along the Atlantic seaboard from the Florida Keys north to North Carolina, with occasional strays carried north by currents as far as Massachusetts. The lionfishes are Schofield and Akins (2019), BioInvasions Records 8(4): 898–910, https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2019.8.4.18 900 Non-native marine fishes in Florida Figure 1. Maps showing sighting reports for lionfishes (Pterois volitans/miles; top panel) and all other non-native marine fishes (bottom panel) in Florida (USGS-NAS 2018a). also established throughout the coastal Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and in South America south to Venezuela. One individual was captured in southern Brazil in 2014, although it is not clear whether that was a secondary introduction or dispersal from the Caribbean population (Ferriera et al. 2015). Lionfishes have been present in Florida waters since at least 1985 (Morris and Akins 2009). Sighting reports were minimal from 1985 (first report) until 2008, when there was a spike in reports (Figure 2). Schofield and Akins (2019), BioInvasions Records 8(4): 898–910, https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2019.8.4.18 901 Non-native marine fishes in Florida Figure 2. Number of lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) sightings in Florida reported to the USGS-NAS database by year (top panel) and cumulative (bottom panel). Each report could represent more than one fish. See text for details of USGS-NAS data collection. The year with the greatest number of reports was 2010 (1,021 lionfish reports), after which sighting reports decreased. Gramma loreto Poey, 1868 has been present in Florida waters since at least the 1990s and possibly earlier.